The enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase IV (EC.3.4.14.5, herein abbreviated as DP-IV, and elsewhere also known as DPP-IV or DAP-IV) is thought to be involved in the regulation of the activities of several hormones. One such hormone is glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), which is involved in the regulation of post-prandial blood glucose levels, and which is converted from its active form, GLP-1(5-36), to the inactive GLP-1(7-36) by DP-IV. In cases of type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, where hyperglycaemia can lead to tissue damage, it would be advantageous to potentiate the effect of endogenous GLP-1. Accordingly, inhibitors of DP-IV have been proposed as candidate drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance. For example, Demuth et al. (WO97/40832) disclose the effect of N-isoleucyl-pyrrolidine on blood glucose levels in a relevant animal model. This compound, however, may not be sufficiently potent to be a viable therapeutic agent. More potent inhibitors of DP-IV are disclosed by Jenkins et al. (WO95/15309) and by Villhauer (WO98/19998), but they tend to be unstable and to cyclize in solution. This instability would lead to difficulties in preparing and storing material of adequate quality for human therapeutic use. Therefore, there remains a need for an agent that inhibits DP-IV in vivo, but which is stable enough for commercial manufacture.